Gehazi - The Book of 2 Kings

In this Bible Story, we learn of Naaman’s new found love for God and desire to bless the people of God. However, Elisha’s servant Gehazi’s heart changes for the worse, as he descends into a cycle of greed and treachery. This story is inspired by 2 Kings 5:15-27. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is 2 Kings 5:27 from the King James Version.

Episode 134: Israel was at war once again, this time against the King of Aram. However, the God of Israel, who knows all, would inform Elisha of what the King of Aram was planning and Elisha would, in turn, inform his King. This constant outmaneuvering irritated the King of Aram and he sent soldiers to hunt for Elisha. When the army of Aram arrived at Dothan they surrounded Elisha and his servant. But Elisha was unafraid because He could see the armies of heaven surrounding the armies of Aram. So he prayed and God delivered the men of Aram into Samaria, the land of their enemy. But instead of bloodshed, they were given a feast, and God’s mercy was revealed to the nations.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray the leprosy. Therefore of Nammon shall cleave
unto thee and unto thy seed forever. Then he went
out from his presence, a leper as white as snow,
Second Kings five twenty seven. In my life, Lord, no
matter how tempting the offers may be, guide me so

(00:23):
that I only receive from others only what You've chosen
to release to me. I declare that I will not
act as Gahese and allow greed to cloud my integrity
and judgment. Far from it. Far be it from me
to step out of alignment and flow with your perfect will.
For I know that whatever you bless me with, there

(00:45):
will be no sickness, sorrow, or guilt attached. When the
time comes for my blessing to overtake me because of
my obedience, I will position my heart and my ears
to listen for your primer to receive. Until then, I
will remain humble and steadfast, knowing that increase is just

(01:09):
around the corner from my faithfulness. In Jesus' name, Amen,
thank you for praying with me today. Continue listening for
an incredible Bible story brought to you by Bible in
a year dot Com Gehesi.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
In our last story, God healed a foreign warrior by
the name of Naman. Naman was plagued with leprosy and
turned down by the King of Israel. Elijah saw this
as a perfect opportunity to show all the nations that
the Lord is a lord of healing and power. Nayman
was refreshed in the cool ward of the Jordan River.

(02:02):
As he bathed himself in the river, his sick and
dying flesh was replaced with new life. Now we learn
of Nieman's new found love for God and desire to
bless the people of God. However, Elisha's servant, Ghesai's heart
changes for the worse as he descends into a cycle
of greed and treachery. Inspired by the Book of Second Kings.

Speaker 3 (02:27):
Hello, I'm pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
Bible in a Year podcast. In the previous episode, we
learned about Naemon, the Syrian commander who sought healing for
his leprosy from the prophet Elishah in Israel. Despite his
initial reluctance and prideful thinking, Naemon finally acted in faith

(02:48):
and believed God and his skin. His illness was completely healed. Today,
we'll pick up where we left off yesterday and hear
how Naeman responded to his healing and how Elisha's servant Gehesel,
gives in to corruptive thinking and deceit. He suffers a
painful consequence for his choice and became an example of

(03:10):
God's judgment for greed and dishonesty. So here's today's Bible reading.

Speaker 2 (03:18):
Naman emerged from the Jordan River a new man as
the sun set. The old and dying flesh had been
washed away, along with his old life. In many ways,
Namon was a completely new person. He had experienced the
glory of God in the cool river for the first time.
His heart beat with more purpose, his lungs were filled

(03:38):
with new life. He was aware and alert to the
movement of God. This caused joy in Naman like never before.
He rushed immediately to Elisha and said, I know with
complete certainty that there is no God except the God
of Israel. Then Naman rolled out gifts of gold and

(03:59):
silver to give to Elisha. Elishah shook his head and smiled, No,
as surely as the Lord lives, I will take nothing
from you. Namon urged Elisha to receive any type of
gift from him. Although Namon was trying to give Elishah gifts,
it was really a gesture towards God. Gratitude filled his
heart for the first time in years, and he desired

(04:22):
to bless those who blessed him very well. Namon replied,
but at least allow me to load my mules with
some of the earth from this holy place. I would
like to remind myself continually of this experience. His eyes
began to well up with tears. They were tears of
joy and peace. From now on, I will not worship

(04:42):
any god except the Lord. Only may the Lord pardon
me when my king leans on me to bow. Elishah
was filled with the joy of the Lord at Naman's
change of heart. He could see the transformative power of
God in his life. Go in peace, he told him,
and with that, Namon departed back to his home. Yet

(05:03):
with all the Lord's blessing, darkness still lingered. Gehazi, the
servant of Elijah, stewed in bitterness as Namon left. He
watched as the rich commander left with all his riches.
Why didn't my master accept the gifts he offered? He
said to himself, led by greed, gehes I packed his
things to go pursue Namon to receive gifts for himself.

(05:26):
Gahaz I rode fast to catch up to them, intent
on satisfying his fleshy desire for temporary things. Nayman saw
him running after him. He climbed down from his chariot
and walked towards him. Worried that something might be wrong.
Namon shouted, is everything okay, yes, gehes I said, trying
to catch his breath. However, my master has sent me

(05:50):
to tell you that two of your prophets have just
arrived at the house. He would like seventy five pounds
of silver and two sets of clothing to give them
his gifts. Gehze lied there were no prophets. He fully
planned to keep the wealth for himself. Greed had a
choke hold over his heart and it would not relent.
Namon smiled, pleased that he could bless the household of Elishah.

(06:13):
Of course, take double the portion, so Namon's servants followed
gehez I back. Gehes I took the goods back to
the house and hid the treasures for himself. Then gehes
I composed himself brushed the dust off his cloak and
walked back into the house. He was met with a
sitting Elishah. Gehes I did his best to smile. He

(06:34):
passed his master and began his regular chores. Where have
you been, gehees I, Elisha asked casually. Nowhere, gehz I replied,
while sweeping, doing his best to avoid eye contact. Elisha sighed,
displeased with Gehese's unwillingness to repent on his own. He
must have known that Elishah would have found out. Was

(06:55):
he really that ignorant of how the Lord worked? Gejz I,
Elishah said gently, don't you realize that I was with
you in spirit while you approached Nayman on his chariot.
Gehes I gulped, realizing that his sins had caught up
to him quicker than expected. Are we to receive money
and clothing? Are we to receive olive groves, beautiful vineyards,

(07:17):
livestock and servants? Is this who we are? Elisha's voice
became more harsh. He stood to his feet and met
Gehesei in the eyes. He stared at him intensely. Gehes
I could feel the eyes of God on him, Because
you have robbed a man healed of leprosy, You and
your descendants will struggle with that same plight forever. Gehese's

(07:40):
guilt rushed over him, and pain began to rush up
his arms and legs. Then, in that moment, Geheesi's body
crumbled with leprosy.

Speaker 3 (07:53):
Today's passage opens up where we ended yesterday. Naheman followed
Elisha's instructions. After dipping him self and the Jordans seven times,
he then emerged with new skin, completely healed of leprosy.
So in Second King five point fifteen we read then
what Naeman did. Then he returned to the man of God,

(08:13):
he and all of his company, and he came and
stood before him, and he said, behold, I know that
there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel.
This man, who had such doubts about finding healing in
this foreign river from a prophet who didn't even come
out and make a show of healing him, had experienced
a change, a changed deep in his heart, much deeper

(08:36):
than his skin. He regained the feeling that he had
lost in his leprosy, But more importantly, his heart is
warmed towards God, the God of healing. Who had healed
not only his physical disease, but washed his spirit. And
his response was to confess God, not just to Elishah,
but in the presence of all his company. This grateful

(08:59):
man wanted to repair Elishah for what he had done,
but Elishah would accept no payment. It was God who
had healed, and Elishah would not profit in this way
from his ministry. Naemon then made a request that may
sound unusual. He asked for permission to load dirt into
a cart so he could carry it home and spread
it on the ground there. It may sound very strange

(09:22):
to our ears, of course, but Elishah would have understood it.
Naemon was recognizing that the soil in Israel represented God's land,
God's territory, and now that Naeman had given his heart
in trust to the One True God, the God of Israel,
he wanted to take some of that territory, symbolically speaking

(09:42):
to his own home, so that he could worship God
on his land. He then asked Elishah to pardon him
for when he had to go before his king to
bow down to a pagan god remen. In other words,
he knew he would have to put on an act
if he was going to pay honor to a false God,
and so he wanted Elishah and God himself to know

(10:03):
that his heart was truly committed to the Lord and
not an idol. Elishah recognized the intent behind these requests
and told Naeman to go in peace. So Naemon departed,
leaving no gifts, but taking holy ground with him back
to Syria. But while Naema's heart had been filled with
faith in God, Elisha's servant Gehaiza was moving in the

(10:27):
opposite direction. He allowed dreed to enter his heart and
to fill it with darkness and sin, like the leprosy
that had filled NAMA's body and left him unfeeling. Greed
and sin numbed Gaza's heart, and he went after Naemon
with deceit and personal gain on his mind. He caught
up to Naman, who asked what he needed. Gehaiza lied

(10:49):
and said Elishah had requested silver and clothing to give
his gift to two sons of prophets. Naemon was eager
to give generously and gave a double portion to Elishah's
unfaithful servant. Geheiza hid what he had received, but Elishah
knew so he questioned his servant, asking where he had been. Again,

(11:12):
Gehaiza lied and said he hadn't been anywhere. That's when
Elishah let him know that he had been caught. He
rebuked him for what he had done, taking from Naeman
and making a mockery of what God had done to
show his glory to a foreigner. Elisha sent Gehiza away
with a curse the leprosy of which Naemon had been
healed would be visited upon him and his descendants, And

(11:36):
as he walked away, Gehiza's flesh was consumed with leprosy.
Lord God, we thank you for the truth of the
Bible and the greatness of these stories that we're hearing.
We pray, o God, that we would learn each day
the lessons we need to live in obedience to you.
Help us, Lord, to have hearts that are full of
you and always sensitive to know and do your will

(11:59):
in Jesus' name. Amen, Thank you for listening to today's
Bible in a Year podcast. I'm pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas.
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(12:20):
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